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Oh this is going to be a fun week!

To clarify, this will be a “fun” week.

This is the kind of week where season-long confidence pool participants are separated. Once we get past the first few lines, nearly every other game is a crap shoot!

My best to those who have to make picks for a survival pool this week.

We’re not worried about that here though so let’s get some confidence!

Week 3 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – LOS ANGELES CHARGERS over Jacksonville – Sorry, Jags – can’t host the Colts every week.

15 – MINNESOTA over Detroit – The Lions have looked better than they have in years…but its still hard to have confidence in them on the road.

14 – Buffalo over MIAMI – Yes Tua had a bit of a coming out party last week. But give me one good reason why you think the Bills will lose any game this season? Not saying they will go undefeated, crazy things happen during the season but my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE BILLS WILL WIN AT LEAST 16 GAMES THIS SEASON.

13 – Kansas City over INDIANAPOLIS – With how good Buffalo has looked, the Chiefs haven’t been too far behind.

12 – San Francisco over DENVER – Aren’t too many situations where a team loses their starting quarterback…and MIGHT be better for it.

11 – TAMPA BAY over Green Bay – I haven’t officially done the math but Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers may have more career TD passes than the combined career yards totals for both of their receiving corps.

10 – Baltimore over NEW ENGLNAD – I fully expect Baltimore to take a lot of AFC East aggression out on the Pats this week.

9 – Los Angeles Rams over ARIZONA – I look for the Rams to make a much needed statement in this game.

8 – CLEVELAND over Pittsburgh – Amazon gives us a matchup this week that most wont be upset about missing due to streaming issues.

7 – SEATTLE over Atlanta – Remember when this would have been a Game of the Week candidate?

6 – CAROLINA over New Orleans – This is a matchup for #1 overall pick quarterback…just keep that in mind as you are trying to stay awake watching.

5 – TENNESSEE over Las Vegas – Both teams desperately need a win – luckily for the Titans the game will take place in Nashville.

4 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Dallas – The Giants could very well be 3-0 at the end of this week…just let that sink in for a bit.

3 – WASHINGTON over Philadelphia – We’ll give this the pick ‘em because they’re the home team tag.

2 – NEW YORK JETS over Cincinnati – Welp, the Jets beat the Bengals last year when Cincy wasn’t seemingly falling apart…sooo…

1 – Houston over CHICAGO – You could very well take the Bears in this one but, unlike the Bears, I’ll pass.

Just one week into the season and we have already seen a lot!

But do we really KNOW anything based off of one week? As you’ll see in this week’s picks, no, not really! Don’t forget that just a couple years ago the Jaguars upset the Colts in week 1 and created a bit of a hype train for themselves!

…they proceeded to finish the season 1-15. Week 1 isn’t the end all-be all of the season.

So let’s get back to the games!

Week 2 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – GREEN BAY over Chicago – I’m not saying it will be similar to the aforementioned Jaguars season, BUT…my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE BEARS WILL BE PICKING FIRST IN THE 2023 NFL DRAFT (oh I’m gonna get a lot of flak for this one…)

15 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Atlanta – While week 1 doesn’t normally provide conclusive opinions, we did have yet another example of the Falcons with a large 4th quarter lead being the most unstable combination in the league.

14 – BUFFALO over Tennessee – Simply put, the Bills are going to be hard to beat this year.

13 – DENVER over Houston – Not even Nathaniel Hackett making decisions on any level can help the Texans this week.

12 – BALTIMORE over Miami – Remember what I said about Lamar playing like he wants to get paid? Yeah, let’s just keep rolling with that!

11 – SAN FRANCISCO over Seattle – To say that the 49ers offense looked as bad as it did last week was due to the game being played in Lake Michigan would be an understatement.

10 – LAS VEGAS over Arizona – We all knew that DeAndre Hopkins is great, but who knew he would be so crucial to the stability of the Cardinals’ offense?

9 – Tampa Bay over NEW ORLEANS – Ho-Hum…the Bucs are still good.

8 – CLEVELAND over New York Jets – There’s a elf that will be painted in the middle of the field…I don’t know, that’s about as excited as I can get for this one.

7 – Cincinnati over DALLAS – I would say that the way the Cowboys offense looked was due to a solid Tampa defense…but then there goes Dak…

6 – KANSAS CITY over Los Angeles Chargers – Just a quick reminder…Patrick Mahomes is OK

5 – PITTSBURGH over New England – This one can be considered the “Was Week 1 Really How They Are?” Bowl

4 – PHILADELPHIA over Minnesota – This should just be a fun one to watch with the Eagles winning simply because they are the home team.

3 – DETROIT over Washington – For the first time in years, the Lions are favored! That, plus the fact that Carson Wentz having a good game one week means a horrible game the next should make you pretty confident with the Lions…but obviously not TOO confident.

2 – NEW YORK GIANTS over Carolina – Even if the kick at the end of the game last week went in and the Giants lost, you would still have to feel confident in how they looked over all…and with how bad the Panthers looked.

1 – JACKSONVILLE Indianapolis – Surprisingly enough, the Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville in a few years. After how both teams looked last week, hard to see that trend changing…but always keep the Jags on the one-point line.

Guess who’s back! Back again! Um…well…it’s me!

More so than that, it’s football!

It’s safe to say that college football got us primed with the amazing game and finishes we had last weekend. But…I mean…come on! There’s nothing like Week 1 of the NFL Season!

I don’t know about you, but seven months is LONG enough, let’s get back at it!

Week 1 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – TENNESSEE over New York Giants – I don’t think the Giants will be AS bad as it looks like they could be…but they’ll look pretty bad in Nashville on Sunday.

15 – CINCINNATI over Pittsburgh – Welcome back to starting NFL games, Mitch Trubiski! Your prize is a road game against the defending conference champs.

14 – WASHINGTON over Jacksonville – Enjoy it Commander fans, can’t see your team this high on a confidence pool much this year. Well…not as the winner.

13 – Baltimore over New York Jets – Safe to say that Lamar Jackson will be playing like he wants someone to pay him.

12 – Indianapolis over HOUSTON – The Texans might be building a bit of an underrated future for themselves…unfortunately for them Jonathan Taylor will probably run for over 200 yards in the very near present.

11 – CAROLINA over Cleveland – This has to feel like the Super Bowl for Baker Mayfield.

10 – MINNESOTA over Green Bay – I’m not ignorant enough to say Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will have a horrible offense without Davante Adams – but there will be a little “feeling out” period with the new WR group.

9 – MIAMI over New England – Tyreek Hill should be able to provide a decent amount of false hope for Dolphins fans after this one.

8 – DALLAS over Tampa Bay – Heads up, Cowboy fans are going to be insufferable after this one.

7 – ATLANTA over New Orleans – …aaaaand we have our “This game is being playing because it’s on the schedule” level of excitement game of the season.

6 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over Buffalo – Last year’s champs start the season hosting what could be our Super Bowl matchup this year. This isn’t a gambling piece but the Rams are currently the underdogs (+2)…just something to keep in mind.

5 – Las Vegas over LOS ANGELES CHARGERS – Those who think this outcome will be different than the epic that ended the 2021 season because of home field advantage for the Chargers haven’t seen the Raider Nation take over San Diego/LA.

4 – Kansas City over ARIZONA – The Chiefs offense will take a hit after losing their top receiver…but so will the Cardinals.

3 – Denver over SEATTLE – Yes, Russell Wilson will beat his old team - but with all the hype around the Broncos, my BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE BONCOS WILL FINISH LAST IN THE AFC WEST.

2 – DETROIT over Philadelphia – Yeah I’ll accept that this is just a Hard Knocks Hype pick.

1 – CHICAGO over San Francisco – It’s sad to say that the Bears will be a team this year that if you think they’ll win, don’t put them too much higher than the one-point line.

Extra football! We get extra football!!

Unfortunately, the extra week will include a decent amount of games where we will see starters for a quarter or two. Obviously this will add a degree of difficulty for us as we make our picks – the Packers are obviously far superior to the Lions…but are their backups?

Before we get into it, I just wanted to say thank you again for following along this year! I hope I helped you in your pools this year…and I’ll see you in September!

Week 18 – HERE WE GO!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

16 – BUFFALO over New  York Jets –  The Bills get lucky with a home game against the Jets when the division is on the line.

15 – TAMPA BAY over Carolina – >>Insert obligatory Antonio Brown comment here (though the less said about him the better)

14 – ARIZONA over Seattle – Think it’s safe to say this is an end of an era game for the Seahawks – welcome to rebuilding. My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that BOTH RUSSELL WILSON AND PETE CARROLL WILL BE OUT OF SEATTLE THIS OFF-SEASON.

13 – LOS ANGELES RAMS over San Francisco – The 9ers have been playing pretty solid lately, unfortunately for them the Rams are playing for the division title.

12 – Indianapolis over JACKSONVILLE – Not only do the Colts get an easy path to clinch a playoff spot, they also get to leave the cold temps in Indy and head to Florida to do so!

11 – MINNESOTA over Chicago – Just one more game, Bears fans…just one more game.

10 – New England over Miami – After such a long winning streak, its odd to think that the Dolphins are far away from contending…but that’s what it seems like.

9 – Kansas City over DENVER – The Broncos have been getting a lot of “just wait ‘til next year” talk…I don’t see it.

8 – BALTIMORE over Pittsburgh – Yes there is a glimmer of playoff hope for the Steelers, but I think they left everything on the field last week.

7 – Tennessee over HOUSTON – This one may be one of those games we talked about depending on who Tennessee plays, but I still just cant see a Texans win.

6 – ATLANTA over New Orleans – David Banner mentioned watching the Falcons play the Saints in one of his songs…that’s about as excited as I can get on this one.

5 – PHILADELPHIA over Dallas – Just seems like another last week of the season game the Cowboys blow in Philly.

4 – Cincinnati over CLEVELAND – Really think the Bengals could play 22 backups and could beat the Browns right now.

3 – Los Angeles Chargers over LAS VEGAS – Yes, there is a part of me that is picking the Chargers thinking that it will help the Raiders win…seems to be how my Raider picks have been going lately.

2 – NEW  YORK GIANTS over Washington – Normally, picking the Giants to win is a solid choice for the one-point line…except when…

1 – DETROIT over Green Bay – …you think the Lions will beat the Packers. Green Bay has already locked up home-field in the playoffs, so the Lions get to play backups.